Jundub al-Azdi (RA) and the Magician

Continuing on our series concerning Sihr (magic) the reader may find the story of the beheading of a magician in Kufa of some interest. I have repeatedly argued that magic is imaginary and unreal. During the caliphate of sayyidina Uthman^RA, a man named al-Walid b. ‘Uqba was appointed as governor of Kufa after Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas^RA was replaced. According to various narrations:

“A magician was playing games in front of Al-Waleed Ibn ‘Uqbah, and he used to take the sword and slaughter himself, and he repeats that without being harmed, then Jundub [Jundub ibn Ka'b Al-Azdi, may Allaah be pleased with him] took the sword and cut his (the magician’s) head off, and then he recited the verse in which Allaah Says (what means): {So would you approach magic while you are aware [of it]?”}[Quran 21:3]

It is narrated that this magician strike someone’s head off with a sword and then apparently revive him back to life, causing the people to be astonished and say “Subhan Allah! He (the magician) gives life to the dead”. Witnessing these evil theatrics, the eminent companion sayyidina Jundub al-Azdi^RA took matters into his own hands and killed the magician by beheading him. Then in order to make the people realize that Sihr has no power to cause life or death, Jundub said:

إن كان صادقاً فليحي نفسه

“If he is truthful let him bring himself back to life”

The saying of Jundub^RA demonstrates the fact that that eminent and pious companion of the Prophet knew that magic is unreal and that the magician cannot bring himself back to life. Although before the assembly in the presence of al-Walid b. ‘Uqba the magician had performed various tricks through his magic, none of those tricks were real but only illusions and casting deception on the eyes of the people, like the Pharaonic magicians as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:

فَلَمَّا أَلْقَوْا سَحَرُوا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ وَجَاءُوا بِسِحْرٍ عَظِيمٍ

When they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck terror into them, and they presented a great [feat of] magic. (7:116)